Monochrome Landscape
by A Neverending Dream of Flight
Summary: AU The world they lived in was a harsh one and each was left on the streets in Russia at a very young age for various reasons, but because they had each other, they could struggle through any danger knowing it would be all right in the end.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! This is my first ever fanfiction so I'm a little unsure about it. Please review and let me know what you liked, didn't like, and suggestions. **

Summary: AU Follow Tala, Kai, Bryan, and Spencer as they struggle for survival on the unforgiving streets of Russia. First fic!

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"Stop" the man cried "thief!"

The thief in question only increased his speed, his lithe form easily dodging between and under unconcerned onlookers. Eventually his pursuer fell behind due to his larger frame and inability to swerve around the oncoming traffic. That, and the man's lack of speed and stamina. The frustrated baker gave up his pursuit once he lost sight of the boy and sauntered back to his shop muttering darkly about how he should hire trained guards to prevent this sort of thing from happening again.

The boy sharply turned into a nearby alley and slowed his pace to a comfortable jog, confident that he had made a successful escape with his prizes, four whole loaves of bread. They weren't exactly a gourmet lunch, but they were the best he could get. The boy turned left into another alley and patiently waited at the end.

He was fifteen years old and had a small but athletic build. His head was completely covered by the hood of his tattered brown cloak. His face and hair would otherwise have given him away in a crowd and make stealing food much more difficult than it already was.

"Nice job little bro."

The voice startled the thief out of the daze he had drifted into and snapped him back to reality. Looking up, he finally noticed the shadowed figure leaning against the wall in the direction he himself had come from. The young man's hood had been removed to reveal stunning red hair and ice blue eyes. "Tala!" shouted the younger male as he ran to hug his surrogate older brother.

"Don't you guys get all mushy on us now!" came the familiar voice of the silver-haired Russian coming up behind them.

"Let them celebrate, Bry" The large blonde behind him chuckled. "Kai managed to successful get us a full lunch. Not that any of us had a reason to doubt him."

Kai removed his hood, revealing stunning crimson eyes that seemed to bore into your soul and four tattooed blue triangles on his cheeks, all framed by his dual-colored hair. Stormy gray in the front and midnight blue in the back.

"Bryan, Spencer."Kai smiled up at the two. They were all here now. All of his comrades and brothers in arms were gathered together.

Spencer was the oldest at nineteen. He was the mother hen and medic of the group. Bryan and Tala were both eighteen. Tala was the brains, collecting necessary data and creating plans, while Bryan was the brawn, fighting off anyone who tried to hurt their makeshift family. Kai was the youngest at fifteen and handled the theft of any food or clothes they needed.

The world they lived in was a harsh one and each was left on the streets in Russia at a very young age for various reasons. The economy had recently gone downhill and people were facing a depression, causing survival on the streets to become much less likely. Often, their ragtag group had been forced to go weeks without proper clothing in the winter, barely surviving. They had learned to adapt quickly to the toughest of times and it was only thanks to their companionship that any of them survived this long. Because they had each other, they could struggle through any danger knowing it would be all right in the end.

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**What did you think? please review and tell me your opinions and suggestions. I would really appreciate it**


	2. Beginings

**Here's the second chapter. Thank you marishka91, FlamingIce94, and GabZ for reviewing. This chapter is a lot longer than the last. I make no guarantees about the others though :). The rating has been changed just in case. Now read and review please.**

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The sun was beginning to set, casting its orange glow on the busy streets of Russia. It illuminated the bustling faces of the upper and middle class while shrouding in darkness the huddled group of four in a side alley.

Occasionally a few of the passersby would steal a glance at the destitute individuals huddled together for warmth, before turning their noses up and walking by with wrinkled looks of disgust. Why should they, the pillars of society, be bothered to care about the worthless layabouts who can't afford proper living conditions and make life difficult for those with proper and paying jobs?

These people often disregard the justifying truth that the circumstances that led them to the streets were often devastating and out of their control. Bryan, Spencer, Tala, and Kai perhaps knew this better than anyone else, as their circumstances were some of the most heartbreaking imaginable. They never talked about them much, their lives had moved on and dwelling on the past only brought back painful memories. Their pasts didn't matter to each other, and so they were left behind. The focus of the four was now on surviving each day and keeping their happy family together.

Having said that, sometimes when the huddled together in the corner of some alley, one or two couldn't help but think back on how their many unhappy roads converged the thriving one that they're walking together now.

Kai let out an inaudible sigh as he leaned back on Spencer, prepared to drift off to sleep. Spencer sat with his back to the wall, Kai on his lap, his head on Spencer's chest. Bryan and Tala each had an arm around Kai's petite frame, and Spencer's arms protectively encircled the entire group in his warm embrace.

As his senses dulled and mind became hazy, Kai thought back on how their little family came into existence- most of his facts coming from what the others had shared long ago.

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The family Kai was born into was upper-middle class. He spent the majority of his life living happily with his parents and younger brother, who was born when he was six. That all changed, though, when they lost the majority of their wealth through a bad investment. Desperate to keep their remaining money and reputation, they made a decision that would change their family forever. They sold their oldest son.

Kai didn't really understand what was happening at the time; he had always been a pure and innocent soul- still was, as a matter of fact. He was the beacon of light for his three comrades, his smile warming their hearts in the harshest Russian snowstorms, giving them the drive to continue struggling for survival. Back then, he had no idea that he was being taken away to be sold as a personal slave to some high-paying snob to do whatever he pleased with the boy. He did not realize that he would never see his family again. Only later would he realize the full extent of his family's betrayal. Much to his credit, however, he sensed that the people who were taking him away probably wished to do him more harm than good and refused to let them 'take care of him' as they had put it. As soon as the car they were riding in slowed to a stop, the man on his left dragged him out securely holding onto his arm while the man on the right exited on his own side. _Well, it's now or never_ Kai thought to himself and kicked the man as hard as he could in his shin.

"Argh!" the man's scream alerted the surrounding men to Kai's escape attempt, but before they could grab him again he took off in the direction that had no guards waiting to grab him. He could vaguely hear the purple haired man in charge screaming at his underlings to "Catch that damn boy." They tried valiantly to grab him, but were doomed to fail from the start. All the years Kai played tag had done wonders for his speed and ability to dodge, it seemed. In under a minute he had lost his pursuers completely and was faced with the new dilemma of trying to survive on his own in an unfamiliar place.

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Spencer had always dreamed of becoming a doctor. His kind heart had steered him toward a profession where he would be able to help anyone and everyone who needed it. His family was a poor one, but his parents had always supported his goal by saving up money for medical books he could learn from. What they couldn't buy, he learned from experience and intuition, often helping the wounded left on the side of the road.

His existence was a poor, but happy one-at least until the tragedy he faced at age twelve. Spencer had gone to the market a few blocks away to buy his mother a few groceries. He was gone for less than an hour, but returned home to the murder of his parents. They had both been stabbed several times and there were obvious signs of a struggle- shattered vases, pictures barely hanging on the wall, etc. He stood frozen in shock for a few seconds, neither noticing or caring that he had dropped the bag of groceries, before opening his mouth and letting out an agonized scream so loud that most would think it impossible. The noise alerted the nearby people and he promptly fell on his butt, panting softly, tears threatening to spill down his quivering face and body.

Spencer had no idea how long he sat there staring at the unmoving forms of his parents. He had lost all sense of time and space, barely reacting to the police carrying him into their cars. _Someone must have called them sometime_ he vaguely thought. The world around him seemed as if it were in slow motion, the silence deafening. He could see people talking-screaming, even-but couldn't hear a word any of them said. It was as if his whole world had died, leaving him behind with an empty void.

When they arrived at the police station, Spencer just stood in front of the building, eyes vacant, facing off to the distance. Deciding he wasn't going to return to reality anytime soon, the uniformed men turned their attention elsewhere, ignoring the stricken boy. The captain went to file the report on the case, and the rest leaned against the car to smoke and talk quietly to one another. If at least one person had remained watching Spencer, they might have noticed him walking off in the direction he had been facing, in a daze. They didn't, though, so by the time they finally noticed his absence, he was long gone, lost in a place completely foreign to him.

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There wasn't much to tell about Bryan's past- he was an unwanted child, born to a homeless alcoholic. The woman kept the baby, but gave him the bare minimum needed for survival. During his life with his 'mom', Bryan was forced to steal whatever she wanted him to- mostly alcohol- if he wanted any amount of food and clothes. He lived this barren and unloving lifestyle until the tender age of seven.

He still remembered that godforsaken day that she abandoned him completely. She had suddenly dumped her seven-year-old child on a curb and told him word for word that she "was tired of having to take care of him and it was such a worthless burden on her because she had never wanted him in the first place."

Having said that, she quickly turned on her heel and left Bryan to either fend for himself or die in that spot. It didn't particularly matter to her, just so long as she didn't have to watch out for him ever again. Meanwhile, the stricken boy just stared at her retreating back, not quite believing what had just happened. From there, his life became a blur, a pattern that kept repeating itself; over and over, refusing to end.

Bryan was slightly lacking in the stealth department, so stealing food was often out of the question. Instead, he used brute strength to gain whatever he needed. He destroyed stands on the street, had fist fights with gangs, he did whatever it took to survive this cruel and merciless world and his existence became further and further shrouded in darkness as the small amounts of hope he held onto slowly crumbled and vanished.

Bryan was gradually losing all hope for the world, and soon it would all have become black for him, if a single light had not shown up when it did.

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The redheaded braniac of the group was once far better off than any of the other three. Tala was born into a fairly wealthy family of merchants, and thus given better quality food, clothes, and education than most others his age. He lived a peaceful and pampered life along with his parents and older sister. The two siblings never got along very well due to a nine year age difference between the two. While he wanted to play and stay in the sun, she preferred to spend her time gossiping and boy watching, always making sure to look her best in case she caught any of her interests' eyes. They tolerated each others' presence, but would never seek them out for anything unless asked.

When she was twenty-one, Tala's sister married. For a while after, the mansion seemed slightly empty to Tala, but he was far from missing his sister. He merely needed some time to adjust to her being gone. That process didn't take long, actually, and within the month he was happily going about his life, blissfully unaware of how short-lived his peace would be.

When Tala was only a month and a half away from turning thirteen, he abruptly lost everything he once had, as if it were all just a wishful dream. In a single day, his whole world went up in flames. The cause of the fire was unknown, but it burned just the same. It burned and burned, then grew and spread, crackling flames enveloping the peaceful home and everyone in it.

Tala and a few servants were the only ones not caught in the blaze. The boy was running around and playing in the front yard when the fire started. When he noticed the flames, he attempted to run in to find his parents, but a nearby steward held him back. If not for that, the boy would not be living today. But he was, and he could only watch as the fire consumed his happiness and memories.

By the time help arrived and put out the fire, all the people trapped in it were long dead, his parents included. The police tried to get his sister to take him in, but she was due to have a baby in a few month and wanted nothing to do with her younger brother. So, in a span of an hour, Tala had turned from a rich kid living an enjoyable life with his family, to a homeless twelve-year-old, dumped on the streets by the police because no one wanted to take him in.

Tala thought he would die like that, but he somehow survived for three months and was gently brought back to the light by an act of kindness. The boy gave Tala a reason to do his best and push through the toughest of times. After having lost everything once, in the unlikeliest of places Tala found an angel.

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**Personally I thought it came out pretty good. Feel free to tell me what you think. I almost cried a couple of times while writing this. Is it just me? Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up quickly. I already have it all planned out in my head, I just need to write it down and type it up. Reviews are encouraged!**


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